Broken Time
by Blood-Foxs-Revenge
Summary: Harry gains knowledge, but to chose the right path he must start over.
1. Hall of Mirrors

**Hall of Mirrors- Broken Time**

Where am I? What's going on?

I walked down a hall of mirrors, each a distortion on me. Unlike the funhouses, these were different reflections of me. I saw a time where I would have been happy, arrogant, fearful, corrupt and more.

Each reflection called out that it was the true path, all others were false. I saw a life where my parents never died, but I bore the scar, another that still had them die but I didn't have the scar. I saw a life in which I accepted Malfoy's hand, and one where I was placed in Hufflepuff.

So many path's my life could have gone, which one would I have chosen? I found myself standing in front of two mirrors. One was bathed in light, the other cloaked in darkness. These are what are ahead of me, a choice of path's.

"You can chose either. You gain the knowledge of the path you deny."

"Who's there," I called looking around.

"I have many names, fate, death, rebirth. So many names, I don't remember what my original was."

I looked at the mirrors, "which will make me the happiest?"

"Depends how you define it. Both hold equal chance for happiness and sorrow. The choice is weather you wish to become what you hate."

Two choices, light and dark. "What if I chose neither?"

You must make a choice. Hurry, your time here is nearing an end."

I want another way. I don't want to follow, I want to lead. I want my family back. "I want my life back! I want to choose, to love or hate because I want it!" Spinning around I yelled, "give me another option!"

There was silence for awhile. "Your time is up. Make your choice."

"I choose…"

Suddenly the mirrors swirled. I could hear the voice faintly calling for me to choose. Out of each mirror stepped an older version of me. One seemed very much like Dumbledore, calm and reserved. The other looked like Riddle and myself combined.

"Choose another way," said the 'dark' me.

"Any other way than this," said the other.

"Why," was my reply.

"I ended up like Dumbledore, old and alone. I lost my one love and I devoted my life to doing the 'greater good for mankind."

"I ended up as bad as Voldemort, only to be killed by the one I loved."

"But I have to choose."

The 'light' me shook his head, "no you don't. The voice of fate wants you to follow a prescribed path. Don't follow any of the ones here."

"So what happens from here then," I asked.

They looked at each other, sadness in their eyes. "You have to start over, you have to break time."

"How?"

"We will use all our combined power to start things over. Neither of our paths were that good, but they had their moments. We will also give you our knowledge of magic, light and dark."

"When you go back, you will have a vast majority of your power, use it to move yourself somewhere safe."

"How far back," I asked.

"We can't prevent our parents death, nor save either of them. We tried, believe me. We can't even prevent you from being placed with the Dursleys."

I nodded, "so after Voldemort marked me. Ok I can deal with that."

One of the two, I could no longer tell the difference, said, "remember, our memories aren't always the same, more reflections of the path we chose. I think you should moderate your actions."

"Remember, in my path darkness wasn't the easy choice. Tom took my innocence from me, he took someone very special and broke her spirit."

I nodded, I was as ready as I was going to be.

They started chanting:

"from darkness and light, send this being from our sight.

Send him to the path's true split, the time of our gift.

No more in light or dark be bathed, but in a shade of gray."

I felt a vortex of power circling around me. Magic I never would have thought possible, that was only available because the both of them were completely equal.

"Avada Kedavra."

I felt the spell bounce off me, leaving it's mark. I watched as Voldemort was struck and disappeared. I watched Sirius argue with Hagrid, Dumbledore telling McGonagall and Hagrid that I would be fine, and the expression on Petunia's face when she found me.

The thing I found interesting was the way she looked at me before telling Vernon what she had found. I listened as Vernon argued against keeping me, and how Petunia said that she would take care of me, that he wouldn't have to lift a finger.

As she brought me in, she looked at me and said, "I'm sorry Harry. My sister and I never saw eye to eye, I admit I was a little jealous of her. I'm sorry that I don't know how to get out of this relationship, but to protect you I must act like I hate you."

I felt a wave of love towards her in that moment. I never understood why I could never hate her, in this moment I did. I silently vowed to change things, all the knowledge in me would be used to protect the one I love, the last of my true family.

**A/n: (I deleted the next at least hundred words for their sexually explicit content and the fact that half of acts described are physically impossible) damn plot bunnies. Tell me what you think. Will be HHr, but that's a long way off.**


	2. Broken Path

**Broken Path**

**A/n: This chap is mostly for plot. (Whines) It's going so long.**

It had been three years since my aunt took me in. Soon after I arrived, I realized that I had taken a middle ground between two extremes, One in which I was constantly abused, and one in which I was loved completely. This middle ground had aunt Petunia caring for me greatly, while Vernon treats me like I'm the lowest form of trash.

In this life, aunt Petunia tried to protect me, mainly by taking the punishments meant for me herself. I knew what was going on, but my magic was too weak to stop him, I could only ease her pain. I felt the darkness that boiled up inside me every time she was hurt, now I have enough to make him stop.

I woke up early that day, Aunt Petunia was asleep on the couch, Vernon had a woman he worked with, his secretary I think, in his bed. Dudley was his father's son, he believed that he was above the law. I woke aunt Petunia quietly, both of us had fallen into the habit of waking silently. I whispered to her, "we have to leave Aunt Petunia."

She shook her head, we had this conversation more than once. "We can't, he'll find us. He'll hurt you." I truly admired her courage at these times, she only stayed to protect me, because Dudley was almost beyond redemption.

I tugged on her arm, "please, I can-"

A loud shout was heard from upstairs, "Woman, bring me my breakfast!"

Aunt Petunia was about to get up and make it, but I would let her. When Vernon heard no response, he came downstairs to wake her up, most likely violently as he preferred to. He caught me pulling on her arm, and started laughing. Horrible, crazy sounding laughter. "You think I will let her go? I have had enough of your interference, I'm going to ensure you don't do it again!"

He stalked towards me, but I didn't react with fear, I acted in anger. With a wave of my hand, I caused him to freeze in mid stride. I started tugging on her sleeve, "it won't last long, we have to go." Vernon broke free just as we were about to shut the door. We took off running, but Vernon came after us.

I could outrun him, but Aunt Petunia wasn't as fast. He caught her and drew his hand to strike. I attacked him with the most vile curses I knew, all done wandless. I sent Vernon through the air about twenty feet back, but I was now winded. Suddenly several pops were heard as the accidental magic reversal squad appeared. One of them walked over towards us with a concerned look on his face.

"Miss, could you tell us what happened?" Aunt Petunia told him exactly what happened. He glanced at me when she said my name, but otherwise paid close attention to her. When he asked if this had happened before, she mutely hung her head.

"Yes, more than once," I said. The auror asked me for an example, I gave him five. When he asked Aunt Petunia if I was telling the truth, she said, "yes he is. I'm afraid for our lives." The auror quickly wrapped things up, even placing Vernon back in his bed. Since we knew of the magic world, we weren't going to be obliviated. He made sure we would be able to reach the police department, then he vanished.

Once Aunt Petunia told her story to the police, they issued an arrest warrant for Vernon, and aunt Petunia filed for divorce. Vernon was arrested an hour later, looking completely outraged. Several hours passed in which Vernon constantly denied the charge.

Months later, we were in court to testify to Vernon's abuse. Aunt Petunia went first, but she broke down on the cross. I did much better, getting the complete story, without the reference to magic, across. The defense asked me several questions, most seemed to try and caused me to counter myself. The main thing that damned Vernon, was Dudley's testimony and he spoke for the defense.

Dudley collaborated our story fully, our attorney didn't even bother questioning him. The jury found Vernon guilty and awarded aunt Petunia with a majority of their combined personal money and property. Dudley refused to live with us, and his aunt Marge took him in.

We lived in the house for a couple of months, but aunt Petunia kept waking up screaming. We sold the house and moved into London. Aunt Petunia searched around for a job, but most required more education than she had. A few of the other families in the area asked if she would be able to baby sit for them, she readily agreed.

We had been living in our new house for a couple of years, aunt Petunia woke up screaming less and less each week. Until we learned Vernon was out. Aunt Petunia panicked, she became afraid again. I went over to one of the neighbors and told them what had happened while she took a nap the day she found out. Soon everyone in the nearby area was aware, but no one told aunt Petunia.

About a month went by without so much as a peep and everyone started to relax, even aunt Petunia. I knew he would be back, he wasn't stupid enough to attack us immediately after he was released. One early morning there was a loud bang on the door. I was up in an instant and stood looking at the front door. Another loud bang almost blew the door off its hinges. I saw aunt Petunia staring at me, fear overriding anything else. I tried to get us out the back door, but the door came down before we could open it. I thanked whoever designed the house so the back and front doors weren't in a straight line. I dragged aunt Petunia out the door and started screaming at the top of my lungs. Lights came on and people looked at our house.

I picked up a rock, I wouldn't let him harm us. A couple of neighbors arrived just as he came out the back door. A few of the neighbors took aunt Petunia away, but they wouldn't be able to beat Vernon to me. He came charging at me like a bull, so I let the rock fly. Many people were impressed by my accuracy, as I had demonstrated it more than once. My aim was true and I hit Vernon on the head. The blow knocked him out, hopefully cracked his skull as well.

The police showed up not ten seconds later, Vernon was arrested for breaking and entering, and violating parole. A week later, Aunt Petunia had legally changed her name back to Evans and officially adopted me. I became Harry James Potter-Evans, or Harry Evans to most everyone. A couple of months after Vernon had attacked, a new couple moved into the area.

They were dentists, and as they got to know the people around them, they were introduced to Petunia, neither of us felt comfortable with me calling her mom. The Grangers had heard that Petunia was the best person to watch children in the area.

The Grangers had a daughter about my age, Hermione, and had asked Petunia if she could watch over her while they were at work. The first time Hermione came over, it was a month before my birthday. I greeted her at the door saying, "hello, you must be Hermione. Please follow me." I almost always did that if I knew who was going to be at the door.

I brought Hermione to Petunia who asked, "what would you like to do Hermione?"

Hermione seemed a little surprised that she was being asked what she wanted to do. "I would like to read my book," she said in a small nervous voice. Petunia and I shared a look, she wasn't used to interacting with the 'large' group of people that were present.

"I can show you a quiet place to read Hermione, would you mind if I joined you?" Petunia didn't seemed fazed by my request to go read, she knew if she needed me all she would have to do was call. I showed Hermione to one of the upper rooms that held our books. Hermione was surprised at the selection at first, but quickly sat down and began reading. I pulled a copy of Beowulf off the shelf and began reading where I had left off.

We sat in silence for awhile before Petunia called us down for lunch. Hermione was quiet, which made more than a little nervous. Once we finished, Hermione and me went back to our reading. After a couple of hours she said, "I won't harm anything."

I glanced at her. "No one said you would, I just thought you might like some company." Her face expressed surprise, but quickly suppressed it. The rest of the day was spent in relative silence, except when one of the youngsters broke something. Hermione was the last to leave, and after she left I went to talk to Petunia.

"She awfully quiet Petunia."

"I noticed. I wonder if its because she's shy or something else." She smiled and we made dinner. It was odd because I was really good at it, but I had very little experience at it. We enjoyed our dinner of spaghetti while laughing at the various odd things the youngsters had done. I used a quick repairing spell, Petunia had showed me a book my mother used to own, on the various broken objects and got ready for bed.

It had been a week since Hermione started staying with us, she slowly started to open up and I was careful not to betray her trust. She gradually relaxed and began to join in some of the games we played.

My birthday dawned bright and clear. I went downstairs to find Petunia casually humming under her breath. I smiled at how happy she was, she only hummed when she was extremely happy. "Good morning Harry. Happy sixth birthday." She was smiling brightly. I knew she had a party planned for later in the afternoon so more people could come.

I greeted the usual youngsters as they came over, most wishing me a happy birthday. The parents either said they were going to be at the party or dropped off their present for me to open later. Hermione came over by herself, as she usually did, and smiled. It had taken a week of hard work to get that smile, and I was glad of the effort I put in it.

We went and started pouring over a rather obscure text that was in the library, my mother had a habit of collecting them, and were constantly arguing various points back and forth. About an hour before the party, Hermione handed me a small box. She had me open it and inside was a locket with the words:

_H & H_

Friends Forever 

Inside was a picture of the two of us posing for a picture Hermione's mother took. I was looking rather goofy standing next to a laughing Hermione. On the other side was a picture of a really good picture of Hermione, most likely professional. I put it on and under my shirt, I figured there was a reason she gave it to me in private.

We went down stairs for the party and found that Petunia had decorated it fairly extravagantly. I only gave her a curious look but said nothing. The party was a joy, most of the neighbors had come over and helped liven the party. There were various games that were played before we even got to presents and cake. Most of the presents were practical, everyone knew I acted a lot older than my age, and some (given by the youngsters) were given in the hopes that they could be played with.

Everyone had a good laugh as the youngsters went to try out the new toys that I had received. After a couple of hours, the youngest ones began to droop, so it was decided to call it a night. I said goodnight to everyone, smiling brightly at Hermione before she left. Petunia and I packed away the toys and presents and went to bed.

A couple of months passed and we were back in school. Hermione and I had the same class together, but unfortunately it seems nothing can be good in my life for long without turning sour. Dudley had transferred into the school, and began terrorizing some of the smaller kids. Dudley remembered me, but we had different schedules in our classes so there wasn't many interactions.

A month passed by and it seemed that Dudley would stay away from me, but I was foolish to believe that it would happen. One day, while walking Hermione home, I ran into them. Dudley had gathered a 'small' group of like minded individuals to help him.

"Well, well. What do we have here boys? A wimp and a slut," Dudley said. I felt my anger boiling beneath the surface. Dudley's gang laughed at his joke. A couple talked about what they should do with us, but Dudley had already decided. "Let's beat up the wimp and have our fun with the girl. I'm sure he'll thank us for breaking her in."

I did a quick count, there were six of them. "You might want to get better odds Dudley," I pulled out a fist full of marbles. "As things stand right now, you don't stand a chance."

They started laughing, "and how do you think that is? We out number you."

I took a marble and threw it, hitting one of them in the gut. He doubled over in pain. "I've worked on my throwing, I can dent steel with one of these. Care to imagine what I can do to you?" A couple of them backed up slightly, one even pissed himself. Dudley saw this and put up a bravado. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hermione looking at me with a slight bit of fear, but I couldn't tell if it was for me or at me.

The stare off continued until three of Dudley's gang turned and ran. The rest, seeing the desertion, ran off shortly afterwards. Dudley's face grew purple, much like his father. I knew he wouldn't run, but I wished he would. He came running at me, I yelled for Hermione to go but she didn't. Dudley swung wildly, it was almost too easy but I concentrated on his attacks. Finally he overextended himself and I plowed my knee into his gut.

I grabbed Hermione's hand and got her to my house before Dudley caught up. I suddenly felt cold, like my emotions were gone. It was a sickening feeling. Dudley attacked with the attitude of a man possessed, he wouldn't stop. The police showed up about the time he started to get exhausted. From what I was told, I simply dodged him for an hour, but I didn't feel fatigued. I was congratulated for my cool head, yet Hermione still looked at me oddly.

I wound up finding a locket to give Hermione for her birthday, Petunia had a good laugh at my being picky about which locket to get her. I finally found the perfect one, It was decorated with a bird as it was just spreading its wings in front of the rising/setting sun. On the back I had inscribed:

_H & H_

Till the ends of time 

She loved it, and I was thankful I didn't give it to her in front of her parents. It had a different picture of us, we were dressed up for something, and like her I had a professionally done photo.

The rest of the year was uneventful, but when I tried to bring up what happened to Hermione, she always changed the subject. She wouldn't tell me what she had been afraid of that day, but we became very close friends after that event. Very few people picked on her, and then only when I wasn't around. I had found Hermione crying a couple of times, but instead of physically attacking the person who insulted her, I attacked them at their weakest point. Though I wouldn't say anything dishonest, or purposely place anything in a dangerous situation, the message was clear: Mess with Hermione and I will pay you back for insulting her.

Most people simply kept there distance, more because she wasn't worth the effort to pick on than anything else. I had talked with Hermione's parents a couple of times and they had told me Hermione was very reserved and most people took it as if she was a snob. I was slowly cracking through the barriers that Hermione put up to keep her heart safe, for some reason beyond my understanding I felt Hermione was very important to me.

The next summer found Hermione and me making constant visits to the library, for more books to read. We quickly were well known by the employees there, well enough to warrant a little teasing back and forth. All in all, it was a good time, sadness wrapped in happiness.

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**A/n: 2892 words. One chapter. Wow, I out did my average. No one can complain that I write short chapters. Thank you for all the reviews.**


	3. Angels and Devils

**Angels and Devils**

A couple of years passed in relative peace. There was the occasional spat with a new bully at school, but they quickly learned it wasn't worth it. I sat in my room late one evening thinking about what Hermione and had planned for tomorrow, it consisted of a trip to the cinema for a movie. At some point I fell asleep.

I dreamt of two figures, cloaked in white and black, playing chess while a third watched. I walked over curious about who they were, and why I was dreaming of them. The two playing were exceptionally good, better than most I ever seen. The third one looked on with a focused expression. The match was too close to call a definite winner before it ended. After a couple of moves the white one, who was playing black pieces, said, "we wondered when you would get here."

The black one said, "yes, I was almost convinced we would have to force the issue." I looked at the speechless, what was going on? Why were the people in my head?

The third smiled at my expression. "I think we should explain why we're here before we drive him nuts." An extra chair appeared and they motioned for me to sit down. "Well the easiest place would be to start at the beginning."

"I was standing in a hall of mirrors, much like a funhouse, when I walked up to two mirrors bathed in darkness and light. I was told to choose between becoming evil or good, but I wanted a third choice. Eventually these two," he gesture to the others, "appeared and informed me that all that would happen is that I would whined up alone or dead."

I could see the pain on the other two's faces as he continued. "We decided that the only way to prevent this was to start over. They used their combined magic to send me to the past with my original power of a seventeen year-old, but then something unexpected happened."

I sat trying to understand what they were saying. A light and dark me? Why would they work together? I voiced my questions. The third said, "we are all the same at the core. Both path's followed the same path up to a point, the point where I was to choose." I asked what was the thing that was unexpected.

"There were three life's worth of knowledge in us, some of it conflicting. Your mind at the time struggled to handle it. I was able to setup several patterns of thought before your mind rejected me to its depths. The result was basically the development of each group of memories into the personalities that you see us as."

"So you three are responsible for the way I act? What right do you have!" I could feel hatred boiling up inside of me.

Black gave me an amused smirk, "no one said that. At the most we helped you protect your aunt. While I would have let her suffer, the balance between us caused you to help protect her."

White chimed in, "we can't influence you, we've tried. While you have our knowledge in you, it was suppressed so your mind could adapt. It's a common mental defense."

Third spoke up, "You see, the only thing I really did was setup your mind so that you practice a skill called Occlumency naturally. You act older because your mind is much more refined than someone your age."

Deciding that either this was a very odd dream, or I was nuts, I asked, "are you the reason Hermione is so important to me?"

They all shrugged, very disconcerting when they did it at the same time. "Hermione figures heavily in all three of our lives, it might have some effect. There are other things we need to discuss." They began telling me what exactly happened when my parents died, that they were killed by a guy named Voldemort, or Tom Riddle. They seemed very insistent that I know that. They told me a prophecy was made that stated that I had a power the 'dark lord knows not'. Apparently there were several choices about this.

Light had defeated him by losing his love, pushing him beyond his limits. Dark had used dark rituals to cause him to develop more power, while this allowed him to stop Tom it made him into another version.

After awhile they said that it was almost time for me to wake up. While they would be aware of what happened around me, sometimes more than I was, they would only talk to me in my sleep. It would get me funny looks to be talking to myself, much less answering. They promised to teach me more magic, but told me I already had a powerful focus if I used it.

That day Hermione and I enjoyed the fact that we could watch a movie by ourselves. Petunia had let us pick a movie, as long as it wasn't a bad one, while she took the youngsters to a kid movie. After the movie let out, it was an early one, we walked around the shopping center just looking at various things.

The day was great until a former blob of fat showed up. Dudley had lost a lot of weight since we had last saw him, fortunately he was as stupid as ever. "I see you're on a date with your slut."

"She's not a slut," was my response. I knew I had implied that it was a date, but I personally found the idea pleasant. "Get lost Dudley, surely your parole officer is looking for by now."

Dudley sneered, "I've been practicing since we last met, you won't win so easily."

I frowned, deciding to keep him talking. He most likely wouldn't attack while he was gloating, and I wanted to get Hermione clear before I went on the offensive. I took in my surroundings, Petunia's movie would let out soon, and I would have to stand my ground. Great.

Dudley got tired of talking and raised his fist, he smirked, "I know you're to afraid to fight me, so if you want to play that dodging game again, I'll go after her."

I could feel darkness whelming up in me at his threat. I whispered to Hermione, "when he attacks, get inside. Do not stay with me." She looked scared but nodded. Dudley launched his attack, but I deflected it. I snarled at him as I grabbed his arm and used it to throw him to the ground. Hermione ran into the cinema and into Petunia. I returned my focus to Dudley with a smirk. He looked at me oddly for a second before the color drained from his face. Before anything could happen, a man interrupted. It turned out I was right, his parole officer was looking for him.

Hermione ran up and hugged me, crying that she was glad I was alright. Petunia was glad as well, but she had a look that said we would talk later. We returned home shortly afterwards, Hermione hadn't wanted to let go of me since the fight. When we got inside, Hermione was asleep on her feet. I placed her on the couch in the library so she could sleep.

A couple of older kids watched the younger ones as Petunia and I sat down to talk about what happened. I explained what we did in as much detail as I could. I knew that we were supposed to have waited for them, but I had thought nothing bad would happen. I cut myself no slack, knowing that I had acted like a child who was enjoying himself. She nodded, the officer had told her that I hadn't done anything wrong, that I used less force than most would have in the same situation.

We sat enjoying our tea as the youngsters played. A couple had taken on a role similar to mine, watching over the young ones to ensure no one got hurt. Afterwards Petunia told me to keep an eye on Hermione, she seemed over stressed for some reason.

I returned to the library and began reading a book: The collected works of Edgar Allen Poe. I was reading the poem: To One in Paradise, when Hermione woke up. I closed the book and waited for her to get her bearings. She looked around slowly till she was looking at me. I smiled at her and she returned it.

"How long have I been out? The last I remember is arriving here, but not coming up here," she asked. She seemed embarrassed about something, but couldn't seem to say what.

"I carried you up here, you seemed exhausted." We sat in silence for awhile. I finally asked the question that had been bothering me. "Why did you react so bad when Dudley showed up?" She bowed her head, not answering at first. I continued with "you can tell me anything you know, I won't say anything unless it could endanger you."

"I ran into Dudley before we ran into him a couple years ago." I saw her eyes harden, "he started to pick on me, he and his friends pulled my hair and various other things." She wouldn't look at me. "They called me a lot of names and stuff." Tears appeared in her eyes.

I knelt in front of her and took her hands. "Was that it?" I really didn't want the answer, I would kill him if she said no. She looked at me for a minute and that was all the answer I needed.

She looked away, "I suppose you find me disgusting now." Her eyes turned dead, "I understand if you want this back." She held out the locket I gave her.

I knew shock showed on my face. I slowly closed her hand around it and pushed her hand towards her. "What does it say on the back of it Hermione?"

"Till the ends of time."

"And has time ended?"

"No."

"Then you keep it. I'm sorry for what that worthless piece of trash did to you, even more sorry that I'm related to him." She looked shocked. I told her about what had happened before Petunia had adopted me. She nodded slowly through it all.

"So that's why he attacked me, to get to you."

I nodded, tears were in my eyes but I refused to shed them. "I put his father in prison for a long time. Hatred does weird things to people." I smiled sadly at her, "are you ok?"

She nodded. We sat in silence for the rest of the day, just being with each other. Hermione had fallen asleep shortly after our conversation, but I didn't want to disturb her just to get my book. I looked at the book and slowly floated it towards me. Once it was in my hands, I opened it and began reading.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

I felt someone shaking me slightly. I opened one eye to see Petunia looking at me with a small smile on her face. I had fallen asleep with my arm around Hermione. Petunia said her parents were here and left me to wake her. I slowly woke her up and relayed what I had been told. Hermione looked almost normal thanks to the sleep. After splashing some water on her face, she left with her parents with a small smile at me.

Petunia said, "so is everything alright?"

I shook my head, "I'm going to make him pay."

"Dudley," she asked. I felt sorry when I nodded. While she had let go of the idea she could save him, he was still her son. She knew that what ever this was about, it was about Hermione. She knew that if I was telling her about wanting to make someone pay, I wasn't going to just embarrass them, I was going to humiliate them. Petunia looked at me for a long time, neither of us saying anything. Finally she said, "don't do something that will get you thrown in jail." With that she went to prepare supper.

It would be three months before I would be able to exact my revenge. The two, apparently third decided to fade away as he was the least helpful, showed me how to setup things so that I wouldn't be caught. It was the day before Hermione's birthday when it happened. We were walking together, for some strange reason we stayed in the same class, when Dudley decided to push his luck. Threats were said back and forth, apparently he spoke a lot to his father, he used some language only an adult would use.

He finally lost it, he took a swing at me, but I attacked first. Not even moving I attacked his mind, showing him what he had done to Hermione. But so that he couldn't enjoy it, I distorted it so that it was a lot more personal. To anyone watching it would seem as if he had started attacking before a suppressed memory burst forward. No one, except Hermione, believed different.

Dudley was transferred to another school because of the event. Life became routine, Hermione and I were at the top of the class, a point difference separating us. I spent most of my time either at home or at Hermione's house. Her parents were uncomfortable with it at first, but gradually got used to having their daughter's best friend being a boy.

I enjoyed my time with Hermione, it was nice to be around someone you could relax around. No one really came around me because it was thought that I was antisocial. Eventually it became obvious that very few people who didn't know me wanted to get close.

Months passed until one morning there was a knock at the door. "Hello, my name is Remus Lupin. I'm looking for a boy named Harry Potter."

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**A/n: Ah! If this keeps up than I'll be over 10,000 words by chapter 5! (smirks) Remus is here! Next chapter deals with Remus, the scars that dead friends left behind and the cost of what's left unsaid. Believe me, I won't follow cannon on the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews.**

**TheFirstOne: I wondered if anyone was going to ask. Here is your answer.**

**Shadowed Rains: Your welcome, and yes you did.**

**Maxennce: Yes old friend, it is. Thanks**

**Griffin 14: Yes.**


	4. A Family Friend

**A Family Friend **

I stared at him for at least a couple of minutes. Remus Lupin was very familiar to me. Something to do with the moon. "Let me get Petunia," I said as I showed him into the parlor. As I was about to leave he asked who I was, I answered, " Harry Evans." I told Petunia who was done there and why. She told me to make some tea and that she would be down in a minute.

I made the tea, thankful today was Saturday and no one was coming over, and sat out the cups. Petunia came down stairs and greeted Mr. Lupin some what reservedly. "Harry tells me you came to see Harry Potter, may I ask why?"

Mr. Lupin shifted in his seat. "I've gone through a bad patch since Lily and James died. I've finally been able to let go and I hoped to get to know Harry."

Petunia and I looked at each other, I gave a slight nod and she said, "he's sitting right here. When I got divorced I changed my name back to Evans and legally adopted Harry."

Mr. Lupin was surprised, but nodded. "I see, when I first saw you I thought it was you, but you didn't respond to the name so I wasn't sure." Mr. Lupin-Remus told us about what he had been doing since he sunk into a depression. Petunia said he was welcomed to stay, but he said something about being a condition and that it wouldn't be a good idea. We talked about basically nothing trying to find what we were each comfortable with.

A few weeks passed and we got to know each other better. Remus took me on walks to talk about my parents. He told me that my dad had been arrogant when he was my age. It was caused by his heritage. While dad was not the type to view others as inferior, he did take pride in knowing how good he was. He had met my mom at school and they had struck up a tentative friendship. She was very sweet and kind, but if she was angered you better start running.

He had made friends with James in his second year, mostly because dad found that he was an excellent tactician. The years had gone by and they became notorious for being able to prank people.

"I was a very close friend with your mother at the time, though most people only thought we hung around each other because we were both in advanced classes."

Remus told me more stories about the exploits of my dad and his friends. My mom had tried to stop them on a few occasions, but they never pulled a prank on her. "James wouldn't have allowed it, he had a huge crush on her. The few times he might have, I forced them onto a different target."

Months passed by and I was constantly learning new things about my parents. Finally I asked a question that had bothered me for some time. "Did you like my mom?"

Remus took several deep breaths before answering. "Yes. The day before she went out with James, she asked me if there was anything that she should know before she agreed to go out with him. I wanted so badly to say yes and tell her my feelings, but I knew how James felt. I also knew that he would be mad because he trusted me with so much information about his feelings. Eventually I said no. Every day since then I've wondered what would have happened if I'd said yes."

I spent my time divided between Hermione and Remus. Hermione understood that I wanted to learn about my parents, and never complained when I wasn't around. While Hermione was good at hiding emotions, I knew her well enough to tell she was sad about being left alone. I invited her more than once consecutively to come with me while I learned about my parents, but she always said no.

I told her everything I learned about my parents, and she listened patiently to my stories about them. After awhile Remus was a constant fixture around the house. He even had his own room when he was available, he had to leave once a month to take care of something for a few days.

Angel told me Remus was a werewolf, once a month he transformed into a wolf that would attack humans. While during these times he was dangerous, the rest of the time he was just an ordinary wizard.

Time passed and Hermione and me resumed our constant devouring of various texts, which caused Remus to laugh saying I was my mother's son. Remus got us several books that we couldn't find, copies of older books that were not translated from their original text.

My tenth birthday came and went. I was quickly approaching the time I was supposed to go to Hogwarts. Angel and Devil, my names for the persons in my head, taught me how to use magic without a focus, but told me I wore a focus that many people weren't aware would work, my locket.

About a month before my eleventh birthday, I finally received my Hogwarts letter. I brought the mail in and showed it to Petunia. It was addressed to Harry Potter. We sat down and wrote the acceptance letter, finishing it as Harry Evans. Hermione came over soon afterwards, apparently she had received her letter as well. She was talking about it sadly until I was able to tell her I received one to. Her scream of excitement brought Petunia running. After admonishing her for startling her, she smiled and congratulated her and suggested that she and her parents stay for supper so that they could discuss it. The day flew by, since Hermione was confirmed as a witch, Petunia brought out my mother's old school books so we could read them.

Hermione spent a lot of time hungrily pouring over various books. I read a couple of advance charm books before it was time for supper. Hermione's parents asked questions and Petunia did her best to answer them.

Mr. Granger asked, "why is it that you know so much about this world?" Petunia explained that her sister had gone to Hogwarts, and that was how she learned about it. It was decided that we would all go together in a week. Hermione's parents and Petunia went to enjoy an adult only conversation while we went and to read some books. We looked over the books for an hour before her parents decided to leave.

The next week we were joined by Remus who said that he wanted to get a few things in Diagon Alley and would be more than happy to show them the way. We (the Grangers) had received a letter saying someone would meet them outside the Leaky Caldron and how to find it. Remus made it that much easier and took us there without any trouble.

We were meet by an older woman dressed very business-like. When she saw Remus she greeted him like an old friend. After the Grangers were introduced, she turned to Petunia and me and asked our names. Remus jumped in, "perhaps we should continue this inside where we can discuss things comfortably. The woman, McGonagall, glanced at me before nodding. We went inside and went into a conference room and sat through an explanation about the currency of the wizard world and various small details about its history.

Once we had finished, we went to Gringotts to get wizard money. Hermione and her parents went to one of the exchange counters while Petunia and I got into line behind a giant of a man. I could only stare in awe at the goblins around us. The man in front of us handed over an envelope and the goblin nodded, and called us up. Petunia handed her the key McGonagall had given us. After a quick inspection he told a goblin to take us down. A quick cart ride brought us to a large vault.

The goblin opened the vault and I felt my eyes grow large. There were piles of gold, silver and bronze coins. Glancing at Petunia I filled two large bags full of the gold coins, Galleons. Returning to the surface I went over to one of the exchange counters and got a large sum of muggle money. Petunia gave me an odd look but said nothing.

We joined up with Hermione's family and went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. We got fitted for our school robes and were told they would be ready in an hour. Next we went to Fourish and Blotts to pick up our books. We picked up a bag that was supposed to be bottomless and feather-light and placed our school books in them. Hermione and me got several books for extra reading, can't be too prepared.

Our next stop was the Apothecary to get our caldrons and other potion supplies. Our final stop was Ollivander's. We walked in and waited for someone to help us, we didn't wait long. "Ah Mr. Potter, I've been wondering when I would see you." An older man appeared from behind some shelves and walked over.

Hermione and her parents gave me odd looks, but I simply stated, "my name is Evans sir, not Potter." The old man, Ollivander, looked at me oddly before nodding. Hermione went first and we waited about ten minutes before she had one that suited her. Ten and a quarter inches, vine wood and dragon heart string. It was my turn next, and though I could feel the pull on me towards a particular wand, I decided to let him work, as he seemed happy when he didn't get it correct the first time.

An hour later, a smiling Ollivander pulled out a wand and brought it over to me. "holly, 11", supple, single phoenix feather," he said. The second he started walking towards me I knew it was the one. I took it and waved it, red and gold sparks flew out. Mr. Ollivander gave me an odd look but said nothing.

We got our robes and returned home, Hermione and I quickly started practicing various spells. After an hour or so, Hermione left to do something while I practiced. A short while later I walked out and overheard Remus and Hermione talking.

"Why did you not want Professor McGonagall to know Harry's name," Hermione asked.

I heard a sigh before Remus said, "Harry is famous in the wizard world. He did something no one knows how to do, he reflected a killing curse, which is supposed to be impossible. While McGonagall knows who Harry is, many wizards and witches hero worship him. Very few people are named Harry, so if they heard his name was Harry Evans, They might just take the time to see if he might be Harry Potter, also known as the 'boy-who-lived'."

"But why? Does it matter?"

"I don't think it should. Unfortunately I am a minority on the subject." There was a slight pause. "If possible, I would like for everyone to believe Harry Potter vanished and Harry Evans has no relation to him. Unfortunately there are quite a few people who will put the pieces together."

There was a long stretch of silence until, "come in Harry, I know you heard most of the conversation," from Remus. I walked in and saw a thoroughly embarrassed Hermione sitting with a calm Remus.

"If you think I'm mad Hermione, believe me I'm not." Hermione smiled weakly at me when I said that. Turning towards Remus I said, "thank you for telling me, no matter how accidentally."

Remus nodded, "I would have told you later, but she," he glanced at Hermione, "can be very persuasive."

I laughed, "you're just now figuring this out? Obviously you haven't spent much time around her." She shot me a glare. "Don't worry Hermione, it just means I can almost never say no to you."

Remus chuckled, "almost?"

I could feel myself blush, "yea, I know how to pick which things I really want to fight over." Everyone had a good laugh. The following weeks had Remus showing us how to perform various spells.

My birthday dawned clear and we had the usual people come over. Hermione had given me a carving of a stag, dog, wolf, and raven. I showed it to Petunia and Remus, who had kind of become like a father to me. Petunia was amazed by the craftsmanship, while Remus just stared at it.

"What's wrong Remus?"

He walked up to it and said, "Prongs," he pointed at the stag, "Padfoot," dog, "Moony," wolf, "and Sunstar," raven. I didn't understand until he said, "these were our forms as animals." He gazed at it for a long time.

After he broke eye contact he explained about my parents, Sirius, and Peter became Animagus to join him on the full moon. He told me in detail about their forms, dad was a stag, mom was a raven, Sirius was a large black dog commonly confused with a Grim, and Peter was a white rat. We (Remus, Hermione and me) talked about the difficulty of becoming Animagus until it was time for the party.

It was decided that since the wizard world had strict adherence the secrecy, we would hold certain presents and till afterwards, basically Remus's. I was fun, I got a nice watch, various pieces of clothing and a camera. There was a lot of laughter and games until everyone went home. Remus told me that my present would be in my room, so I went and found a beautiful snowy owl in a cage.

I ran back down stairs and was repetitively saying thank you over and over. I promised to take real good care of her. I kind of felt a little ridiculous, but I was happy about it. I went back to my room and began to try and think up a name for her when 'Hedwig' popped in my head. She liked it and flew over to my shoulder when I called her it. I sat stroking her feathers for a while before laying down and sleeping.

**(You didn't think he wouldn't have Hedwig did you?)**

I saw Devil and Angel playing chess, but the pieces were different. On Angel's side there were various people, some I didn't know and some I did. On Devil's it was almost the same. What caught my eye about the pieces was that some of them were changing between animals and humans.

"We won't be able to help you with events that are coming, our time will soon end," Angel said.

"The game is about to begin," said Angel.

"All the pieces are in place," said Devil.

"Beware of rats, especially one missing a toe on the right."

"The wolf knows the dog is innocent, but cannot prove it. Take heed when you see a grim, for he hunts the rat."

"The snake is preparing to strike the castle, he seeks what can save him."

They said together, "Fate's path broken, all is gray. Light and dark war for your aid, do not fall to their heed. To the life of one cling, for she is our salvation." I could tell that something was going to happen when they stood from their game, it was something they never did.

"We bestow to you our knowledge, remember it is a double edge sword."

"You have no more need of us, the dam within you will now be broken." They changed from definite colors to very similar shades of gray. I watch as a look of sadness crossed their face.

Then I felt a wave hit me, and their memories came forward.

* * *

**A/n:2638 words. It may seem odd that I put that in there, but I like it. I got flamed for the first time on this story! I have a question, if someone doesn't like a story, why review? I mean you can't judge a book on the first chapter. (Smirks) Thank you for all the kind reviews!**

**Questions: Only one… Is that a good thing?**

**Basil/raven: Harry was nine going on ten and Hermione was ten going on eleven.**

**Things to remember: **

**The interaction between Hermione and Dudley. While I will not write what happened (at least not publish it), it will figure in to things later. Dudley will also come back, and you will see exactly how important Hermione is to Harry.**

**Remus and Petunia. They figure as the more important adult characters.**


	5. Meet Harry Evans

**Meet Harry Evans**

**A/n: I'm not going to try to get Hagrid's accent right.**

Harry woke up with a pounding headache the next morning. The first thought he had was that he needed to get a pensieve soon. Harry walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Petunia and Remus were. He felt bad when he couldn't walk straight and they were worried about him.

When they asked what was wrong, he explained what had happened. Petunia didn't seem to know what to make of it, but Remus seemed thoughtful. It was decided that it would be a good idea to get a pensieve that day. Petunia said that she would have no problem with the children, so Harry and Remus quickly went to Diagon Alley.

Remus had a firm hold on Harry's arm to help me walk straight. They retrieved enough money for a pensieve. Once they had it, they returned quickly to the house so Harry could empty the thoughts of the others.

As soon as it was done, it decided that it would be a good idea for Harry to keep it with him, which made him thankful Remus had got him a multi-compartment trunk. Now that he had only the memories that were his, he realized exactly why he always acted mature for his age. The memories, though not fully recognized by him, had skewed his perspectives. He hadn't been acting so much as reacting.

The rest of the month passed uneventfully. Harry studied the memories in the evenings. He learned that the line blurs the more powerful you get. By the time he was to go to Hogwarts, he had seen all the first year lessons so that he could be ahead of the curve.

The night before Harry was to leave was a somber affair between Petunia, Remus and himself. Petunia had made a small feast for them to enjoy. They sat in silence enjoying each others company. A few times it seemed as if someone was going to say something, but none could find the right words.

They sat downstairs for awhile just being around each other. When Remus excused himself, Harry walked over to Petunia and gave her a hug, something that he rarely ever did. He felt her tense in surprise at first, but then return it. He looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Petunia, can I ask you for something?" She nodded slowly. "Can I call you mom? I know that legally you are, but I never felt comfortable calling you it." He added in a small voice, "please?"

Tears clouded her eyes as she said, "yes, I would be honored." She hugged him tightly and he returned it. No one was sure how long they stayed that way, all Harry knew was that Remus woke him early the next morning so he could get ready.

Mom, just thinking that brought a smile to Harry's face, and Remus were going to join up with Hermione's parents and all go together. Arriving at platform nine, Remus explained how they were supposed to get on the train. Harry said goodbye to mom, since non-magic people couldn't walk through the barrier, and Remus took them through the barrier and helped get them on the train.

Once on board, they decided to see if they could meet anyone else. The two split up deciding that it would cover more ground. Harry ran into a boy named Neville Longbottom, who was looking for his toad. He decided to help him, and Hermione ran into them a little later while they were still looking. Eventually the three of them found it and invited Neville to join them. The trio sat talking until the train started moving.

Neville came from an old magic family. He lived with his grandmother and had discovered he was magic when his great uncle dropped him out a second story window. they talked about the things that would be studied and what house they thought they would end up in.

Shortly after the train began, a red headed boy walked in and asked if he could sit. Something tugged at Harry's memory about him, but he couldn't place it. He sat next to Neville and joined in the conversation about where they wanted to be placed.

After awhile the trolley came by and offered some treats. Before anyone could move, Harry went and bought a large portion for everyone. They enjoyed the snacks for awhile, Ron, the red head, and Neville explaining about the various peculiarities of wizard candy. Returning to the conversation of the house we want to be in and why, it was finally Harry's turn.

"So Harry, which house," asked Neville.

Ron's eyes narrowed and he studied him before his eyes widened, "your Harry Potter!"

Harry looked at him, "no, my name is Harry Evans."

He didn't believe him however, "you look just like a description of him, scar and everything."

Harry rolled my eyes, "so? There is the chance that two people unrelated can look similar. I got this scar in an accident when I was young." Ron still didn't seem believe him, but decided to drop it.

Neville returned everyone to the original topic, "so Harry," he glared at Ron daring him to interrupt, "what house do you want to be in?"

He smiled, "Gryffindor, I heard my mother's sister went in it." Neville nodded. It wound up being that all of them would prefer to be in Gryffindor if they had our way. The rest of the trip was listening to Neville and Ron explaining things about the wizard world, while Hermione and Harry explained about the Muggle world.

Muggle, for some strange reason that word didn't sit well with Harry. After explaining about ten times about the uses of electricity, three boys about the same age opened the door. Harry felt another familiar tugging, but it was both in amusement and anger. The leader, a blond skinny boy, stepped forward and said, "I heard Harry Potter is on the train."

Ron looked at Harry while Neville said, "your information is wrong." The leader narrowed his eyes at Neville before walking away. The rest of the trip was boring, as they didn't really have anything new to talk about.

When the train arrived at the station, they heard a loud booming voice say, "First years, first years to me." It wasn't hard to find the source of the yelling, the person doing it stood well above everyone.

Remus had told Harry and Hermione about Hagrid, the groundskeeper, so they weren't as surprised as everyone else. Once they had been gathered together and got into boats, Hagrid called, "forward!" As the boat's started forward, everyone made pleasant sounds at the sight of the castle. While Harry was impressed as well, he contained his enthusiasm and kept looking around as if someone was going to attack him.

They made it to the docks and approached the large main doors. Once there, Hagrid raised the giant knocker and let it fall, giving off a hollow bang. The doors opened and Hagrid said, "all students accounted for Professor McGonagall."

Professor McGonagall nodded and took them into a small room that Harry recognized as off the Great Hall. Hermione and Neville stood talking about what they thought could be the test that separated people into houses. Harry squatted down and drew claming breaths to keep form being worried. Soon enough for Harry, Professor McGonagall led them into the Great Hall and place a hat on a stool. A tear opened in the brim and it said/sang:

_Oh you may not think me pretty,_  
_But don't judge on what you see,_  
_I'll eat myself if you can find_  
_A smarter hat than me._  
_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
_Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
_And I can cap them all._  
_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
_The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_  
_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The hall clapped and Harry had a small smile on his face. After bowing to each of the houses, the sorting got under way. Harry was listening for his name, and after awhile he heard, "Granger, Hermione." Looking in shock, he watched as Hermione went up to be sorted. Harry knew that the names went in order, so why was Hermione going first?

Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor as was Neville. When "Potter, Harry" was called, many craned their necks to see him. While Harry was well aware that Harry Potter was his birth name, he refused to acknowledge that he was anyone other than Harry Evans. After a short while, in which most of the teachers showed confusion as to why no one responded, they continued to the next name.

Ron was also sorted into Gryffindor, and finally it was Harry standing alone with a very confused staff. Professor Dumbledore seemed surprised and said, "may I ask what your name is child?"

Harry looked calmly as he could and said, "Harry Evans sir." Understanding flashed across Dumbledore's face and he gestured for Harry to take his turn.

As the hat fell over his eyes, he heard, "very organized mind you have there young one."

"Thank you," he replied in kind. Harry could feel the hat sorting through his memories, and was suddenly grateful that the excess memories were gone. Finally the hat said, "you would do well in every house. Plenty of courage. . . not a bad mind. . . talent. . . and a nice thirst to prove yourself."

Before it could make a suggestion, Harry asked, "could you put me in Gryffindor?"

If the hat could have smiled, Harry was pretty sure it would have. "As you wish, Gryffindor." The last was said to the rest of the hall. Harry quickly got up and placed the hat back on the stool. Afterwards he joined Hermione at the Gryffindor table. A lot of people gave him an odd look, but Dumbledore started the feast and it was soon ignored.

Most people were discussing where they came from, but Harry decided to remain silent. He learned a lot during the meal. Gryffindor house was one in which heritage was not the most important thing and that Slytherin tended to have more people that leaned towards the dark arts. Harry thought it odd that no one paid attention to the fact the sorting hat said that they would use any means to achieve their ends, they were the cunning.

The meal ended soon enough, as Harry had dodged questions about his heritage, and Dumbledore gave a few announcements. "Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the halls between classes. Also the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, some of our older students would do well to remember that." He glanced at a pair of red heads who smiled back. "And finally, the third floor corridor on the right side is off limits to any who do not wish to die a very painful death."

A few people laughed at this, Harry was not one of them. Harry remembered something about the third floor, something about a three-headed dog. He would have to search the memories to find out what. Hermione and Harry walked with the rest of the house and soon arrived at the entrance to Gryffindor tower. After saying goodnight to Hermione, Harry walked to his dorm room and waited for his dorm mates to fall asleep. Unfortunately, Harry's exhaustion caught up with him and he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/n: 2027words. Reedited. Many thanks to all who reviewed. A lot of people have a problem with the attack by Dudley, so I think I should clarify some things.**

**Dudley is simply imitating his father. His father will play a part later.**


	6. The End of the Week and A Battle That Mi...

**Chapter VI: The End of the Week and A Battle That Might Have Been**

Severus Snape walked into the Headmaster's office, they had enjoyed several conversations of an intellectual nature. However, this would not be one of those times. Albus Dumbledore sat before his fireplace, a look of contemplation obscuring his usual act of naivete.

Severus sat in the chair he always sat in whenever it was just him and the Headmaster, though he would never be seated in front of anyone else unless they happened to be a student. Allowing himself to drift into his own thoughts, he thought of how many of the staff thought of him as a loose cannon, though he simply played his part and only let his guard down when he was around the headmaster.

"So his name is Evans now," the Headmaster said softly. Severus only nodded. He had thought the boy was James for a split second when he walked in, he had the same swagger as his father.

"Why did he said his name was Harry Evans, not Potter," his mentors eyes narrowed, "what has happened to change things this dramatically?" Albus relaxed his guard a fraction as he allowed his confusion to show.

"I don't know Albus, it's almost as if he were pushing away his legacy as the boy-who-lived, to simply became a boy." Severus ran his hand through his hair, unsure know how to react to the boy. If he was know as Harry Potter, he could treat the boy with disgust to cover his memories of the man he resembled, and the eyes the girl who had tried to save him.

Now, how could he face the boy? The nightmares that had been burned into his mind, courtesy of his former master, had reinforced his natural hatred of James Potter, to whom he still owed a life debt too. He felt as if he would never be free of this particular albatross from his neck, but he now could perhaps free himself of it.

Albus Dumbledore, heralded as one of the greatest wizards of the age, sat in silence as his potions master sat lost in his own thoughts. They had always started off each year that he'd been teaching this way, in a way it was a catharsis for the both them. This was the only time they let their masks down, which was always on plain display to all who knew them.

His mind was caught up in trying to understand what had changed, when did his carefully laid plans fall apart? He had known of the divorce of Petunia and Vernon Dursley, even that she had gone back to Evans, but not why Harry was identifying with the name Evans. Unless she had adopted him, that could explain a great deal, including why a Harry Evans sent a message agreeing to come to Hogwarts.

When they hadn't received a message from Harry Potter, Albus had simply slipped one in. He assumed that Harry would be coming, but not that he wouldn't acknowledge his birth name.

Shaking himself, he turned to the younger man with a smile, "yet another year, more minds to guide towards fulfillment."

Severus's eyes betrayed him, as they always did with the headmaster. "Many of those who have children have them starting now." It wasn't necessary to say who they were discussing, it had been a conversation that happened more than once.

"All the more reason to try and guide them out of the dangerous waters they have been abandoned in." Albus looked at him carefully, "you will not turn from the path of penance, no matter that it tears you up to watch the ones that refused to be saved."

Severus bowed his head, both in acknowledgement and guilt, "it's the only way I can make up for all the pain I inflicted." Having said this, Severus stood, gathering his robes around him as if they were chains attaching him to his burdens.

With a nod, they both took back up their guises, that of a naive Headmaster and an evil Potions Master.

He heard Neville stirring the Saturday after their first week of classes. It had been uneventful week for Harry, mostly. After taking the time to actually view his memories last night, he was glad that he hadn't seen them earlier.

Many things, namely the people who were enemies in the past, were slightly different. While there was still antagonism between himself and Malfoy, it was much less of a personal vendetta and more general grief about being a Gryffindor.

The oddest thing was Snape. Sure he was a bloody git, but it seemed as if he were unsettled about how to treat Harry. The few classes that they had, Harry was routinely called to answer questions, some of which he wouldn't have had any ability to answer if he hadn't read ahead in the books provided.

Joining Hermione and Neville as they walked down to breakfast, his thoughts drifted to much more pleasant classes. He remembered that Flitwick had paused after calling his name, his face taking on a look of remembrance, before continuing. McGonagall was better, but Harry still saw the slight pause as she read his name.

He realized that Evans was his birth mother's maiden name, but the odd looks he got from various members of the teaching staff set him slightly on edge. It was ridiculous how some of their professors would give him looks that bordered of sympathy mixed with confusion.

Sitting with Hermione to his side and Neville across from him, the three of them started eating and discussed their plans for the day. Hermione wanted to study, which was fine, but Harry and Neville, though Harry was the more vocal, wanted to enjoy the sunshine and not be cooped up inside. They compromised by collecting books for Hermione to read, while Harry showed Neville how to play football.

There was another thing that he noticed that was different, in the other memories he was constantly down playing his abilities to fit in. Now he was free to be himself. Another thing that he realized, much to his chagrin, was that he and Ron Weasley were best friends. While he had nothing against Ron, the boy could be a loud mouth. It didn't help that he tended to speak without engaging his higher brain functions.

Collecting a few books for when it got hotter, Harry walked with Hermione and Neville down to a tree beside the lake. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw a boy that looked like him with three others. He would have studied it longer, but Neville caught his attention and when he looked back it was gone.

Most of the morning was spent enjoying the air and the sunshine. Hermione didn't get much reading done, as she laughed at the two of them. Eventually Harry and Neville joined Hermione in the shade to get a small bit of rest before lunch.

As Harry laid back with his eyes closed and enjoyed the heat from the sun, He pictured a woman with red hair sitting next to a man that he knew, but couldn't place. The image was disjointed, as if it were being seen second hand. He felt irritation that he knew was not his own, and a sense of restraining what was inside from doing what he really wanted to do.

Harry heard someone calling his name, but it sounded far away. "Harry," said the distant voice, "no please, … Harry…" the voice drifted away as his mind rushed to being awake.

He sat up abruptly, his scar itching fiercely. Hermione and Neville looked startled as he cast around for the voice. 'What were they talking about,' Harry thought to himself. Realizing that they were giving him odd looks, he said "sorry, I just had a really odd dream."

The Three of them passed Professor Quirrell as they went towards the great hall. As they sat down to eat, they were joined by a couple of other members of their year, Parvati and Lavender, who seemed to be trying to flirt with Harry.

Harry noticed that Hermione was about to get up and leave, as she had finished her food, but he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving. He had noticed an odd look as she glanced at him, but didn't feel that here was the place to discuss it.

Smiling brightly, "well, it's been a pleasure talking to you," he said to the girls. "Hermione, I was wondering if you could help me with some questions I had about what Professor Flitwick taught us," he gave her a slightly pleading look.

She nodded, "sure Harry, no problem." She watched as Harry gave a signal for Neville to wait as they stood up. After a few steps, Neville stood up and slowly began to follow them. As soon as they were out of line of sight, Hermione asked, "what was that all about Harry?"

Harry gave her an apologetic look, "it was the only way I could leave without them following me." He looked at the ground, "it's not the first time that various girls have tried to flirt with me, they're just the only ones who have done it in front of you."

Harry smiled slightly, "this is the first time I have been able to get away with out hiding in places they wouldn't look."

Hermione turned her eyes down and controlled her expression, "so I'm just an excuse to get away, is that it?" She wasn't sure why she said that, but she felt it was something that should be said.

Harry's head snapped up, fast enough to look painful, shock and hurt written on his face, "Hermione, I would never," she placed a hand on his shoulder and he quieted instantly.

"I know Harry. I just wanted it said so you knew how others might view it." She didn't say how good it felt that he wouldn't take her for granted. She trusted him completely, but she wasn't going to say that.

Neville joined them shortly after and they went down by the lake to read and be outside. Hermione was glad that she had them as friends, but she wasn't comfortable when it came to others. She had seen them whispering, though it was mostly girls that did that. She knew that she was different for being so smart, add in the facts that she was friends with two boys her age and she was a little to different to most girls. After all, she wasn't worried about looking good and impressing a boy, or talking about makeup and hair products.

She kept her eyes on her book, fighting keep the feeling of being slighted by the other girls from showing on her face. She held the locket that Harry had given her, it was something that she valued highly because it was given in friendship, which she had lacked until she met Harry.

She watched her two friends practice a charm from farther ahead in the books, the levitation charm, and as she watched she noticed that Harry seemed to have a natural talent for teaching. He was patiently instructing showing Neville how to perform the charm until he finally got it right.

The next few hours were spent enjoying the last of the summer heat. As Harry walked in with Hermione and Neville, he saw Lavender and Parvati throw a dirty look at Hermione as they passed, which confused him.

As soon they returned to the common room, Ron immediately walked up and challenged Harry to a game of chess. Harry agreed and walked over to the set all ready set up. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hermione had got out her book of grade one spells, apparently intent on trying to master a few harder spells by the end of the weekend.

She wasn't sure how long she had just been sitting there, just staring at the words in front of her. She kept thinking about how a lot of the girls had commented on Harry, mostly that they thought he was really attractive. She hadn't wanted to listen, he was her closest friend and the only one she trusted to tell her secrets to. She didn't want to listen to them talk about him like a side of meat.

She glanced at Harry, thoughts of what others were saying running through her head. A part of her felt sorry for him, she knew that her dorm mates wouldn't take no for an answer unless he was off the market, and then they would stew in their jealousy.

Hermione saw a few of the girls whisper to each other and point at him, after all not many people in the wizard world tended to work out, and Harry worked out a lot with Remus. She kept her head down, it wasn't her place to judge who was good enough for Harry, she had no claims on him after all.

Hermione watched as Harry beat Ron, something that was apparently hard to do, and was congratulated by the people that had been beaten by Ron. Harry stayed for a minute, his face looked as if he were just tolerating the praise, before joining her on the couch as he picked up her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and began reading.

A few of her dorm mates looked as if they wanted to talk to him. She also noticed him shift slightly towards her, but kept his eyes on the book. They sat reading until they left them alone. Hermione noticed that Harry relaxed, but didn't say anything.

Harry noticed Hermione fiddling with her locket and placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew that she only did it when she was nervous or upset. She glanced at him and smiled. He remembered that the other versions of him had always cared deeply for Hermione, even the dark one. He had watched as he'd struggled not to lose control and begged her to stop him.

Grief seemed to be a constant theme in his life, because he could rarely be happy without something bad happening. They sat reading until everyone had left to go to bed. Harry helped her with her books to the stairs, as he couldn't walk on them without them turning into a slide. He bid her goodnight and waited until she had gone into her dorm. He slowly walked up the stairs to his own, dark thoughts clouding his mind.

He got out his pensieve and closed his curtains. After ensuring his privacy, he delved into the memories, watching the final battles that had been fought. It was interesting that both seemed to happen in the same time frame, as everyone else looked similar to their counter part, give or take a few scars.

Harry watched as the dark him went toe to toe with Voldemort. The battle shook the surrounding area, and everyone stopped and watched in awe at the fight. Eventually his dark self won, but at the end something unexpected happened. The energies tied to Voldemort when he finally expired snapped towards him.

The result was that he was overwhelmed by the malevolent aura of Voldemort. He watched as the dark him begged Hermione to stop him, that he couldn't hold him back.

"Please," he whispered, "I can't hold his mind back, we're to similar now."

"You have to Harry," Hermione said as she stroked his hair out of his face. "You can't leave me now."

He reached up and caressed the side of her face, "I'm sorry, I wasted so much time. Time I could have been with you." A look of longing fell on his face, "I have come so far, yet now I wish I could be on a beach anywhere with you for just a few more hours." He chuckled, "I have gained power beyond measure, yet all I want is more time with you."

He had a spasm, and struggled to hold back the encroaching darkness, "please love, don't let him take control."

Tears fell down her face as she kissed him, "I love you." He nodded and closed his eyes. The memory faded and Harry was now sitting on his bed.

What had happened, at first he was watching then it was as if he were living it. This was one of the roads he could have taken, losing to complete darkness. Forcing Hermione to kill him.

He shook his head, trying to clear himself from the memories that he hadn't lived. Putting up the pensieve, he came to a decision. No matter what it took, he would not put her in that position.

He would find a third option.

**A/n: 2787. (mutters curses at a game called Home World) sorry for the delay. For those wondering why Harry refused to admit he was Potter/ had to wait until the end, he never heard his name. I ordiginally had it as he would go when Evans was called, which would attract the attention of the teachers, which it did any ways, but decided that I liked this better.**


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